With all the negative threads, just thought I'd point out that one of our players is having a good run. Nic is playing some damn good basketball right now. 15 points, 6-7 shooting, 3-4 from three, 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks in 32 mintes. 19 points, 8-17 shooting, 11 boards, 1 steal. Not bad numbers. I think Batum is finally playing with confidence and it's showing some serious results.
I thought about that watching the game tonight. Batum seems to get it what it takes. I see him attacking the offensive boards and not just standing outside the 3 pt line on offense. His stroke is smooth a silk too. I've never really bought onto the idea that he could be as good as Pippen, however I think their games are similar style wise. But, if he can put up stats like that on a consistent basis he could be a key component to a deep run in the playoffs. I think the international ball he played this summer was great for him, the more experience the better for a raw kid like Batum. Its also awesome that he's only what 21?
Deadly shooter and good on the break. Would still like to see him improve his handle. It would make him that much better. Right now he really can't be asked to create offense 1on1.
The emergence of Batum is one of the reasons we will be much better this year. He's still so young. He could develop into an elite player in this league.
His ability to play well on both ends of the floor is impressive. His defense in the fourth quarter tonight was real good, from help-side to his individual D. He's just scratching the surface, too, I think..
Batum is so smooth and athletic, but he also seems to have high bball IQ. I love having multiple players, Roy, Batum, and potentially Wes, that can fill out multiple categories on the stat sheet including pts, asts and rebs all while playing D. Batum will certainly be a huge part of anything the Blazers are able to accomplish this season.
I don't know if I see Pippen... I'm not sure who he reminds me of, but I don't think it's Pip. Yes, there's the defense, and the three point shooting, but Pip was a better ball handler. I'll have to think on it.
Early 2000's version of Andrei Kirilenko. [video=youtube;dCxYqcsbkJw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCxYqcsbkJw[/video]
I can't remember who was guarding him last night when he did it, but he had a sweet baseline drive that started from the left wing where he drew three defenders and made a really nice pass to a cutting Camby. Just because his role on the offense is to mostly NOT create, doesn't mean he can't or doesn't have enough of a handle
Batum is good, but not "Pippen Good". Nic reminds me more of a Detlef Schrempf - a solid player who can shoot, pass, defend multiple positions, & plays intelligent. Schrempf was more polished offensively, but I think that's where Batum's game is headed. He'll be able to post up smaller defenders, and he'll improve at facing up and either taking a jumper or going to the basket. Most nights Nic is a spot up shooter who grabs/tips a few offensive boards & runs the floor pretty well, but you see flashes of more offensive versatility. Pippen in his prime was one of the most dynamic players in the game. He could take over games with his defense, scoring, passing. I remember the 2000 WCF after we took Game 2 in LA. Before the game reporters were asking PJ about Pippen's D. He said "Scottie can't guard 5 guys at once". After the Blazers crushed the Lakers in Game 2 Phil said "I was right, he could only guard Shaq, Kobe, & Glen Rice." And that was an "old" SP. It's not fair to compair Nic to one of the Greatest 50 Players of All Time, but he is good. Really Good. I had forgotten that we really didn't draft Nic. Houston did, then traded him to us for the rights to Darrell Arthur and Joey Dorsey. Not a bad move.
Batum is already a better outside shooter than Kirilenko. but AK did fill the stat sheets back in the day.
I posted this in another thread before I saw this one but my 2 cents: I love Nic's play so far this year. Not that I expect him to but if he rebounds at his current rate so far this year or even close to it we should out-rebound our opponent every night. When you have Camby 10+ rebounds, LA 9+ rebounds, Oden 10+ rebounds, Prz 8+ rebounds and then our small forward Batum is grabbing 7+ rebounds that is crazy. And we have pretty rebounding guards too. I also really hope that he can continue hitting the 3 ball at a good rate like he has so far. It changes our team and what we can do quite a bit if he can become a consistent threat from 3.
Batum and Camby are the biggest keys to our first two wins. They've taken it up a level this year, and that's been enough to make the difference. Actually, without Camby, we might not have won either of these games.
He wasn't that bad. Certainly not able to cover small guys the way Batum can. But Detlef was a serviceable defender, even late in his career as a Blazer he did alright. It's hard to find a comparison for Batum. The similarities to DS are more offensive I guess.
The really great thing about Camby is when I realzied last year that he wasnt just playing that way cuz he was new with us and wanted to impress but instead that he plays that way every night. When Oden and Pryz come back its amazing to think that there will no point in the game when we dont have a monster of a center in the game. We will every opportunity to win games with our rebounding and presence in the middle.
AK47 was such a beast. A 5x5 threat every night. But I think he was/is a better ball handler than Nic, but Batum is a far better shooter.
